While Russia's place among the world's big economies varies, depending on exchange rates and price comparisons for goods, the IMF finds the nation's total contribution to the global economy is falling.

Alexander Kinshak

Russian Ambassador to Syria

"Washington’s project of ‘alternative Syria’ in areas, ’liberated’ with involvement of the international coalition, arouses many questions. We can see in that an intention to split the country, and, possibly, to fix the illegal American military presence in Syria."

Sergey Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister

"Well, the report and the lists you just mentioned are absolutely ridiculous. It could have been done in half an hour. I think so, and so thinks former U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul, who said that his expert would have been able in a half an hour to copy out these names from the telephone directories of the Russian Federation government and presidential administration, and also from Forbes.”

Michael McFaul confirmed he agrees with Lavrov, and the names in the unclassified part of the U.S. report coincide with the names on the Kremlin.ru and Gov.ru websites, and the Russians included on Forbes magazine’s 2017 list of the world’s billionaires. However, Lavrov failed to mention the report’s classified section, or that the individuals on the unclassified list are not the targets of sanctions.

Russian Defense Ministry

"The recent incident once again shows that the United States’ illegal military presence in Syria is actually aimed at taking control of the country’s economic assets and not at fighting against the ISIL international terror group [the former name of the Islamic State - TASS],"

Consulate General of Russia in New York

"The Embassy urges the Department of State and Department of Justice to take urgent measures to respect the legitimate rights of the Russian citizen, as well as to ensure proper conditions of Pyotr (Peter) Levashov’s detention and the protection of his human dignity," the statement said. "The Embassy also demands that the Russian citizen is provided with medicine to treat his diagnosed diseases. We also expect human rights organizations to intervene in this situation."

The state prison system denies mistreatment of the Russian cyber-hacker, who was extradited from Spain in early February. A study of U.S. prisons confirms the size of cells used for “protective custody” in U.S. prisons.

Various

"In the EU countries, the flashmob #sorry launched by residents of Germany, Sweden, Denmark and other European countries has spread. The aim of the action is for European women to apologize to refugees for their depraved behavior and clothing that forced migrants to commit sexual violence against women."

Ksenia Sobchak

Presidential Candidate, Russia

“I am absolutely sure that these are Putin’s last six years in power and he will be seeking some way out of the situation through a person who is comfortable for him, through a compromise figure, through the possibility of creating a situation in which he will not be persecuted after he gives up power.”

Russian presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak said she believes Vladimir Putin is seeking a safe exit from power and preparing a transition of power to the more liberal forces she represents. Experts and Russia watchers disagree with Sobchak's assessment.

Experts have challenged the Russian Defense Ministry’s claim that the Su-25 shot down in Syria’s Idlib province was on a “ceasefire observance” mission, pointing to video footage showing that the Russian fighter jet launched an airstrike approximately 15 seconds before it was hit by a shoulder-fired missile.

RT (Russia Today) and Sputnik Charter

The charter establishing Russian government international broadcasters RT and Sputnik requires they cover government policy and also “public life in the Russian Federation.” During and after “Voter’s Strike” rallies held across Russia on Sunday, January 28, those protests were largely absent from the front pages of RT and Sputnik websites, despite the arrests of hundreds of people and the opposition leader.

Russian government international broadcaster RT reported the January 28 "Voters Strike" on the Web and its television programs on Sunday and Monday - though the multi-city rallies did not receive as much attention on the government sites as on independent media. RT and Sputnik, the flagships of Russia's international broadcasting, did not appear to carry the story on their mobile newsfeeds late Sunday. Polygraph.info is happy to correct its earlier story and explain further the context of RT's coverage.

Since Russia was chosen to host the 2018 World Cup, it has been the subject of a massive anti-doping investigation, banned from participation in the Olympics, and accused of worker exploitation and the mass killing of stray animals as part of the preparations for the world soccer tournament. The U.S. Justice Department investigates a firm, that helped Russia to win the 2018 World Cup bid. In addition, Russian soccer hooligans have been banned from the European Union for violence.

Defense Ministry

Russia

"A(n) Su-27 fighter jet from air defense alert force was used to intercept the target. The Su-27 approached the aircraft to a safe distance and identified it as a US ЕР-3Е Aries II electronic warfare and reconnaissance aircraft. The Su-27 flight was performed in strict compliance with international rule[s] of airspace use, no incidents were reported.”